29 January 2016

I don't own a lot of Tolkien artwork, unfortunately, but I finally have one piece to display, thanks to my friend Valdis Longbeard! She sent me this print by Joe Gilronan back at Christmas (along with an equally beautiful card), and I absolutely adore it!

27 January 2016

In 2009, I decided to finally get my very first tattoo, something I had wanted since I was in middle school. I have always been in love with the Rohirric culture, so a horse symbol seemed absolutely fitting.

I am planning more (elaborate) tattoos in the near future, but am still not entirely sure what to get. I initially thought of getting the White Tree of Gondor on the opposite shoulder; then I thought about Thror's map; sometimes I play around with the idea of expanding my Rohirric tattoo; and I am also starting to plan out a partial sleeve, most likely depicting a scene (or several) from The Silmarillion. I love my horse, and I'll probably get the White Tree somewhere, but I want complex tattoos and not just a bunch of sigils.

26 January 2016

Here are a few of my Hobbit and LOTR inspired home décor items – right now I just have bedding, but soon I hope to get my hands on some of the neat salt and pepper shakers, night lights, and cookie jars.

24 January 2016

I've met three of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings actors so far – Billy Boyd, Aidan Turner, and Sean Astin; I have pictures with all three and autographs from Aidan and Sean.

I had the pleasure of meeting Aidan at Boston Comic Con in 2013; I had him sign my deluxe pocket edition of The Hobbit, which had been a gift the previous Christmas from my boyfriend. Aidan was such a delight, and was even kind enough to later pose for a photo with me when I ran into him on the convention floor.

The following summer, Sean Astin came to Boston Comic Con. I had seen him before at ELF in 2006, but had not had a chance to meet him or get an autograph. This time, I jumped at the chance. Sean was even more charming than I'd imagined. Not only did I get a photo with him, but he was kind enough to sign my copy of his autobiography, There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale.

23 January 2016

My dad is an avid supporter of my collecting habits. Often, he accompanies me on my adventures to find new and interesting items. One of my favourite memories with him is when we went up to northern Maine for the day and stumbled upon a used bookstore. We spent a great amount of time in there, both looking for our own respective interests (he's a huge science fiction buff) and chatting with the owner. Every so often, my dad would try to get my attention and show me books I had somehow missed; when all was said and done, I had spent nearly $100 on a stack of books. Just as we were checking out, the owner mentioned he had a copy of the vinyl soundtrack to the 1977 Hobbit film. Of course I had to have that!

22 January 2016

As you probably know from following my social media accounts, I mostly play Lord of the Rings Online; but I've collected numerous other games along the way! (Not pictured: LEGO Hobbit & LOTR, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and Guardians of Middle-earth.)

21 January 2016

I'd love to add more translations to my collection; currently, I have focused more on languages I know or am slowly learning. Hobbitus Ille was a must, as I studied Latin throughout middle and high school; I do know some German, so Der Herr der Ringe was also necessary; and I have dabbled a little in Japanese, and this copy of Hobitto no Bōken was too beautiful to pass up!

19 January 2016

After reviewing The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies extended edition a few months ago, I decided I wanted a few movie-related items, particularly Elrond's silver ring and the Mirkwood jail key. So as soon as the holidays had ended (during which I got my ring!), I immediately purchased the key. It was bigger and even more spectacular than I'd imagined it would be!

18 January 2016

My longest-sought after item is a tie between the Barbara Remington illustrated set of The Lord of the Rings and the unauthorised ACE edition. I purchased this set on eBay for $30 and am so happy to finally have it in my collection!

15 January 2016

Every collector and collection is unique, so there really is no standard "must have" checklist; although I would recommend The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion to those new to Middle-earth. Additionally, I love Middle-earth inspired jewellery, so these are some of my must-haves.

14 January 2016

My Arwen dresses are technically the largest item(s) in my collection. Both of these dresses – Arwen's blood red dress and her coronation gown – were made by my mother in 2004 and 2005. The coronation one was made of a silkier material, and is therefore harder to photograph; but here is the blood red dress in all its glory!

13 January 2016

My collection is so vast and so scattered that every time I re-ogranise it, I find things I forgot I had. I keep these Lord of the Rings themed plates carefully stored in my bedroom, so it's easy to forget I own them!

12 January 2016

My Tolkien wishlist is endless! There is such an abundance of official and inspired merchandise that it seems nearly impossible to own everything – which, of course, is part of the fun of collecting.

While I would love a first edition or a signed copy of any of Tolkien's works, for this blog post I'm going to be a bit more realistic and include items which are more in my price range; this is less of a "wish" list and more of a "things I will eventually buy for myself" list.

More items from Badali Jewelry

The Elfstone pendant – this item in particular immediately struck a chord with me, as it ties into the title of my blog (Use Well the Days) and the quote behind it: Then Aragorn took leave of Celeborn and Galadriel; and the Lady said to
him: ‘Elfstone, through darkness you have come to your hope, and have
now all your desire. Use well the days!’

The ring of Nenya – while I already have the officially licensed movie version, I fell in love with Badali's original design, inspired by the books. Unfortunately, it's a perfect promise/engagement/wedding ring, so I can't very well purchase it for myself; but I've certainly put the bug in Mr. Britta's ear once or twice!
Additionally, Badali Jewelry posted on their Instagram yesterday a sneak peak at what's to come in 2016, and it sounds like there are some new Hobbit/Lord of the Rings inspired items in the works! I don't even know what they are yet, but I do know I'm going to want them all!

Can you tell I am a huge fan of Badali? ;-)

Some other items I'd love to start collecting are statues and busts by Weta Workshop/Sideshow Collectibles, replica weapons (especially Glamdring, Hadhafang, and Herugrim), Tolkien-inspired artwork (by some of my favourite artists, such as the Brothers Hildebrandt, Donato Giancola, and Cor Blok), and more Tolkien tattoos – as soon as I can figure out what to get!

11 January 2016

After four years of playing on the Landroval server, and some careful deliberation, I decided to transfer all of my characters over to Arkenstone. For those of you who are also on the latter server, I have updated the 'LOTRO' tab on my homepage to reflect the transfer and include all of my characters, should you ever need a questing buddy or any other kind of assistance.

I have almost always played solo, and recently have found my interest in the game dwindling. I would love to start playing with other people again, so it is my hope that this move will open some new doors and introduce me to some new friends.

With the exception of two, all of my toons are in my alt-kinship, "Use Well the Days"; so if you see me in-game, don't hesitate to say hello! I want 2016 to be the year where I get most, if not all, of my alts to the level cap; and I can't do it without friends!

I don't really have anything I consider a "guilty pleasure" – I only collect things I like and I don't worry about what other people will say or think. But for the purpose of today's prompt, I'm going to go with Gandalf memorabilia. I am a huge sucker for anything relating to Gandalf. He is my favourite character, so anytime I see anything relating to him, I have to grab it immediately.

10 January 2016

It's impossible to choose just one item to be considered the "Arkenstone" of my collection – as I've stated before, I am a huge fan of jewellery – particularly Badali Jewelry – so naturally I consider some of those pieces to be the most important parts of my collection.

Bookwise, my two favourite editions of The Lord of the Rings are the Barbara Remington illustrated set and the unauthorised ACE edition. Both took me a good amount of time to collect, and are now counted among my most precious items.

09 January 2016

I kind of struggled with this one, so I ended up choosing several items: these Lord of the Rings cups – one from Burger King and the other from the Exhibition in Boston; a Two Towers pocket mirror; and these Hobbit-inspired perfume oils from Deep Midnight Perfumes.

07 January 2016

I treated myself to a few post-Christmas goodies: the Mirkwood gaol key from Weta NZ, a super soft One Ring throw and Evenstar keychain from Hot Topic, and the ring Vilya from My Precious Fantasy Webshop (which hasn't arrived yet, but I want to include it in this entry anyway).

06 January 2016

I've scored many deals throughout my years as a Tolkien collector, but I think these are two of the best things I've found so far. I got an awesome deal on this Gandalf knife from Franklin Mint (although it is slightly damaged) and the boxed set of The Lord of the Rings underneath is a second edition from 1965, and probably one of my oldest copies. The only thing missing from that set is the dust jacket on The Fellowship of the Ring, but the boxed set was so cheap I really can't complain.

In general, I've found a lot of incredibly low-priced books on AbeBooks.com. With books as low as $3 apiece, I find I can get a lot of bang for my buck and also obtain harder to find copies.